Ireland has won a record-breaking 104 Green Flag Awards for its public spaces this year, almost a fifth of which were for volunteer-led community gardens.
The Green Flag Awards were launched in the UK in 1996 to shine a light on the world’s best public parks and gardens.
Ireland’s 2022 awards were managed and announced by An Taisce Environmental Education. They include four new Green Flags, three new community award winners and five new Green Heritage Site Accreditations.
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Three applicants also won special awards for creating bee-friendly gardens by following the All-Island Pollinator Plan.
The emerald island again clinched more awards than any other country, aside from the UK, with 104 of the 136 awarded across Europe on Tuesday. This year, participating European countries included Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
‘One hundred shades of green’
The awards were expanded in 2018 to include community gardens, parks and Tidy Towns projects and empower local communities to improve their own environment. Of the 104 Irish Green Flags, 85 were given to formal parks and 19, volunteer run community sites.
Anne-Marie Toomey, Tidy Towns, spoke of her village’s pride at clinching a Green Flag for Foulksmills Park.
“It has been in the heart of our village for over 35 years and is a place for everyone to enjoy,” she said.
“The award is a recognition of all the hard work and dedication the committee has put in over the years. A huge thank you to the community and Wexford County Council who have been on the journey with us.”
Minister of State for Community Development and Charities, Joe O’Brien, says including community run spaces has helped “leverage the Green Flag Award values and standards for the benefit of our communities and their voluntary work”.
“It is a great credit they have helped deliver this Green Flag accreditation across Ireland,” he added.
Three applicants also received special awards for managing parks or community spaces in a bee-friendly way.
This year’s Green Flag Pollinator Award winners were:
- Malahide Demesne and Talbot Botanical Gardens, Fingal County Council
- South Dublin County Council’s Tymon Park, in the town park category
- Julianstown Community Gardens, in the community category
Castletown House and Parkland, Oldbridge Estate, and Tralee Bay Wetlands were all highly commended.
Community and Engagement Officer for the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, Kate Chandler, said: “One third of our wild bees in Ireland are under threat due to a loss of food and shelter, and so we’re thrilled to see the range of activities taking place across the country to support them.
“We had a number of impressive new applications this year, and look forward to working with An Taisce again to encourage more applications in the years to come.”
It was also the second year for ‘Green Heritage Site Accreditation’, which is awarded to public green spaces of historical and cultural significance with 12 Irish Green Flag sites meeting the standard - up from seven in 2021.
Heritage Minister Malcolm Noonan said: “This scheme brings together the human and natural aspect of a place... celebrates best practice in engagement with multi-layered heritage and reminds us all of our responsibility to appreciate and preserve richness and diversity of the green spaces that surround us, now even more important than ever”.
Emlyn Cullen, who helps run the Irish awards at An Taisce, added: “The continued success of the Green Flag Award in Ireland is a great measure of how much the country values parks and green spaces and how well managed many of them are.
“I’d like to say well done to everyone who works in the sector for their ongoing commitment. You make a huge positive impact on your local communities and the natural environment.”
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